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Thanks Rowdy Of course they could just start a SMART Recovery meeting and avoid the need for such cognitive 'work-arounds' ! Over half of SMART Recovery attendees in the USA attend church, so do not find a secular model antithetical to their religious affiliations - though it can be a complicating factor for some. As an aside, there is a (to some surprising) large number of people who attend both the fellowships and SMART Recovery. They seem to get different things from each approach and are able to leave ideas at the door that they are not comfortable with. Here is an excerpt on the issue from the new UK SMART facilitators manual. *What about Spirituality?* SMART Recovery believes that the power to change addictive behaviour resides within each individual and does not depend upon adherence to any spiritual viewpoint. The use of religious or spiritual beliefs and practices in recovery is a personal choice and not a part of the programme. This does not mean that participants who have values, beliefs or inner life that they describe as spiritual or religious are asked to leave that part of themselves entirely at the door. Leading a balanced life can include finding inspiration in core values, ethics and beliefs; for some people this might include spirituality or religious affiliation. Acknowledging that these beliefs inspire and motivate some participants toward a better life does not make the SMART programme any less secular. Many regards Richard ---------------------------- Richard Phillips ---------------------------- On 1 December 2011 08:54, Rowdy Yates <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Members may be interested in this attempt to blend together the > philosophies of SMART and AA/NA on the basis that many SMART Recovery > members struggle particularly with the Higher Power elements of the 12 > steps. This comes from the Addictions list-serv of the Unitarian > Universalist Church: > > > > "I am someone who believes that addiction results primarily from a > spiritual crisis. It is the result of becoming disconnected from our > Life Source and adopting the delusional belief that we are separate and > alone. > > In our arrogance, we believed that we could figure life out for ourselves > - find a way to cope with it or find a way to make it work to our own > advantage. Our way of coping was to indulge in an addiction. So for me, > the message of 12 step programs, that reconnection with our Source is a > necessary part of recovery, has proven both valid and useful. > > Here's a "Trauma-Informed SMART Universalist" interpretation of the steps > that works for me, that I'll share in the hope that it might be helpful > to others for whom 12-step programs are their only option. It goes like > this... > > 1. We admitted we [had abandoned our Selves and our Life Source and looked > instead to _______ (addictive substance/behavior) for relief from our > emotional and psychological pain. After doing that repeatedly, we became > habituated to __________ to the extent that we felt we] were powerless > over______________ - that our lives had become unmanageable. > > 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us > to sanity. [That Power is a part of each one of us - it is our Life > Source. It is our Love, our heart, our spirit, our connectedness with all > beings in the Universe. It is that eternal part of us that we abandoned > and disowned while we sought to obtain something outside ourselves that we > thought would give us safety, contentment, love and happiness.] > > 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God > as we understood Him. [The experience of life we are having now is the > evidence of our Power. By our separate and self-serving thoughts, feelings > and actions, we have unconsciously created it. Therefore, by mindfully > choosing different thoughts, feelings and actions in communion and > cooperation with our Life Source, we CAN create something new - > something Life-affirming, - something joyful and beautiful.] > > 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. [Carefully > and consciously examined our beliefs about ourselves, other people and > life, to identify those that were not aligned with our true Self and with > the Oneness of Life.] > > 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being, the exact > nature of our wrongs. [Admitted that many of our thoughts were > irrational (not true) and self-defeating and that some of our behaviors > were, in fact, harmful to ourselves and others.] > > 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. > [Made the commitment to be continuously and consciously mindful of our > thoughts - to dispute those that were irrational (not true) and replace > them with more Life-affirming and Self-affirming thoughts.] > > 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our short-comings. [Let go of our guilt and > shame - recognized and accepted our innocence and guiltlessness. > Realized that our irrational beliefs resulted from drawing invalid > conclusions about ourselves, others and about life based on our earlier life > experiences. Understood that it was reasonable for us to draw those > conclusions at the time given what we were experiencing, our level of > knowledge and our level of psychological and emotional development. Viewed > ourselves with compassion - understanding that we drew > those conclusions in an effort to protect ourselves and to have life make > some kind of sense, and that was neither bad nor wrong. It is just what > human children do. Saw ourselves as empowered to change - we are not > children anymore. We have grown and changed. We have more knowledge and > information now, and we can draw different conclusions that result in more > empowering beliefs now.] > > 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make > amends to them all. [Realized that our belief that we were separate and > alone had caused us to view others as being in competition with us for > Life's goodness. This belief caused us to behave in competitive, > self-protecting and self-enhancing ways that resulted in harm to ourselves > and others. We realized that our relationships and our connectedness were > our most prized assets - that they were, in fact, our Life Source.]. > > 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do > so would injure them or others. [Made apologies and took corrective actions > when appropriate. Communicated to others that we had been mistaken in our > perceptions and that we intended to view life differently and thus, behave > differently - with preservation of relationship and connection being our > highest value.] > > 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly > admitted it. [Continued to be alert to our irrational beliefs as life > experiences caused them to surface into our consciousness. Disputed them > and replaced them with more Self-affirming and Life-affirming beliefs.] > > 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact > with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for > us and the power to carry that out. [Made a conscious effort to see and > understand the oneness of all things in our daily lives - to see > ourselves as an interconnected part of the web of Life, to see the Love > and Life in all things, and to see the goodness in oureselves and all > people (underneath behaviors) - to be an open channel for the giving and > receiving - the circulation - of Life's Love.] > > 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we > tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principals in > all our affairs. [Having connected with the Life Source and having been > transformed and revitalized by it, we tried to share our new perspective, > vision and experience with others who were still suffering and to live in > harmony (in flow) with Life, such that our thoughts and actions benefit > the Whole rather than ourselves alone.]" > > > > > *Rowdy Yates* > *Snr. Research Fellow* > *Scottish Addiction Studies* > *School of Applied Social Science* > *University of Stirling.* > > *W: **http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/groups/showgroup.php?id=4*<http://www.dass.stir.ac.uk/groups/showgroup.php?id=4> > * (home)* > * **http://www.drugslibrary.stir.ac.uk/*<http://www.drugslibrary.stir.ac.uk/> > * (library)* > *T: +44 (0) 1786-467737* > *M: +44 (0) 7894-864897* > *F: +44 (0) 1786-466299* > *E: [log in to unmask]* > > > > ------------------------------ > The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010 > The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC > 011159. >